A planned trip to the bathhouse requires preparation. Among the usual bath accessories, a hat occupies a special place. This is not a tribute to fashion, but a concern for your health. You can buy a ready-made hat or sew it yourself, following the instructions. Content:
- Features of hats for a bath
- Bath cap requirements
- Material for sewing hats
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Making a budenovka hat
- Building a pattern
- Sewing hats
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Felting a woolen hat
- Types of wool for felting
- Materials and tools
- Wet felting
Fans of Russian baths and Finnish saunas do not think about the benefits of a hat for water procedures. They know that it is simply necessary. But what you should think about is the model of the hat, the material, and finally decide to make an original and solid bath accessory with your own hands.
Features of hats for a bath
The purpose of the bath cap is to protect the head from the high temperature in the steam room. It gives an excellent opportunity to be in the steam room for a longer time without risking heat stroke and, as a result, headache, nausea, dizziness.
Specialized shops for bath accessories provide discerning buyers with a huge selection of bath hats. You can spend hours looking at the assortment of finished products that can diversify our life, make a visit to the bathhouse a bright festive event.
The choice of a hat depends on your personality. There are simple classic models that have become traditional, such as bell, budenovka, hat. Models for the brave and cheerful - kokoshnik, jester's hat, cocked hat, pirate.
Expensive designer models are decorated with embroidery, appliqués, decorative ribbons, cords. When purchasing such unusual, original bath caps, keep in mind that the paint on them must be resistant, the parts must be attached firmly to withstand the test of hot steam and high temperature.
The shape of a bath cap should correspond to its main purpose - to serve as reliable protection for the head, be sure to cover the crown, back of the head, eyes and hair. It is better to put long hair under a hat, this will save them from drying out.
Bath cap requirements
A bath hat is a significant element, which is in second place in the list of a bath set. Before you buy it, check out the requirements of the bathing culture for a modern hat:
- Security … It should serve to preserve health. Use natural materials for it, they are preferable to synthetic ones, which, when heated, can release toxic substances.
- Protection … It should protect against burns and overheating in the Finnish bath and Russian steam bath, prevent the development of bacteria and fungus on the scalp, prevent dandruff and seborrhea, and brittle hair. For this, the material from which it is sewn should not create a "greenhouse effect", but maintain a comfortable temperature.
- Practicality … The hat should not shrink and shed, but should be washed well and dry quickly.
- Convenience … The hat should be comfortable, not cramped, but not too spacious, it matches the size of the head.
- Attractiveness … Your positive emotions from hygiene procedures will only increase if the design of the bath hat will delight you and your friends.
Material for sewing hats in the bath
The material for the hat in the bath is no less important than its shape. We can say that any is suitable, but preferably natural. Synthetics will not save the head from overheating, create uncomfortable conditions due to poor hygroscopicity and high thermal conductivity.
Animal wool is a natural material with high hygroscopicity and low thermal conductivity. Wool absorbs moisture up to 1/3 of its volume. Thanks to good thermal insulation, the head with a woolen hat maintains a constant temperature, lower than that of the environment.
In ancient times, wool was attributed to medicinal properties, it was treated for radiculitis and arthrosis, massage was done to improve blood circulation. Therefore, instead of a traditional bath hat, you can take at least an old knitted outdoor hat, but felted woolen material - felt or felt is much better.
The most popular natural ecological fabrics for sewing hats are:
- Felt … Non-woven fabric with high density, its thickness reaches several millimeters. Felt is made by hand from woolen fibers using the felting method. The thickness of the pieces of felt may vary depending on its purpose. Sheep wool is traditionally used as a raw material. Under the action of hot steam and water, the cuticles of the hairs firmly adhere to each other, as a result of which a dense, light mass is formed.
- Felt … This is a "refined" felt. Its production requires finer wool of goats, rabbits, merino. The technology of felting felt and felt is practically the same. This is one of the most ancient technologies that appeared long before the development of weaving. Sometimes synthetic fibers are added to the felt. Varieties of felt - smooth (velor), fleecy. Thanks to the soft wool, the felt does not prick, which is sometimes the case with coarser felt.
- Linen … Natural plant material. It has a beneficial effect on the scalp. the phenolic compounds contained in it kill bacteria and fungus. A linen hat will protect the scalp from drying out well, the head from overheating at the highest temperatures. Finnish linen sauna hats are very comfortable, original and varied in design.
- Cotton … A hygienic material, used for making hats together with linen. Cotton bath hats are valued for their qualities: hygroscopicity, anti-allergenicity, which is important if you are allergic to wool. Since a thin hat is not suitable for a steam room, choose terry fabrics for it. In the absence of a special bath hat, you can wrap a towel around your head.
Making a budenovka hat for a bath
There are several ways to acquire the desired bath accessory: buy in a retail network, order in a workshop, make it yourself. Having mastered the process of sewing hats for a bath, you can make a valuable gift to yourself or your friends. Now we will figure out how to sew a hat for a bath and spend just an hour of our time on it. Get the material, tools, pattern suitable for your model, be patient, use your imagination. Even women and men who are not very experienced in tailoring can sew a budenovka.
Building a pattern for a budenovka hat in a bath
"Budenovka" is a practical, comfortable hat that does not require any special skills in modeling. Sewing even such a simple tailor-made thing as a bath cap begins with building a pattern in the following sequence:
- Measure the circumference of your head with a centimeter across your forehead and crown. The depth of the cap is measured from the ear to the crown.
- Divide the resulting number by six. So many wedges will need to be duplicated.
- Draw on the paper the outline of one wedge in the form of an elongated isosceles triangle. To make the hat fit better, round its ribs. Copy Wedge: 4pcs for the front and rear and 2 lateral. To make a pattern of a hat for a bath is easier on graph paper or using a template. You will need it more than once, stick it on cardboard to keep it safe.
- Draw on paper the rest of the details of the cap: visor (2 pcs.), Loop (2 pcs.), Lapel (2 pcs.).
- Cut out the details of the pattern with scissors and transfer them to the fabric.
Thin fabrics (linen, cotton) can be folded in half for increased thickness. Natural fabrics will shrink in humid steam room air up to 30%, so add seam allowances of 10-15 mm, and in height - more than 1 cm to the desired depth.
Sewing budenovka hats for a bath
Before you start sewing a hat for a bath, you need to take care of the availability of simple sewing accessories, such as a centimeter, ruler, pencil, pattern paper, scissors, thread (cotton, wool), needle, thimble, awl or thick needle, material (felt, felt, linen, cotton).
You can sew the prepared parts of the budenovka hat for the bath on a sewing machine or by hand. The sewing method you choose depends on the thickness of the fabric. Sew details from a thin fabric on a sewing machine. It is better to compact them by folding them in half.
Thick felt is difficult to sew on a typewriter without spoiling it, so manual sewing, which can be made decorative, is preferable. Also sew the felt by hand with a thick needle, pre-piercing the holes with an awl. Tie the thick fabric pieces together and sew with a strong woolen thread. For decorating and sewing felt and felt, you can use a contrasting color thread and sew on the right side.
The handmade Budenovka hat for the bath is ready. If you wish, you can decorate it with various details. Please note that the air in the steam room is hot, do not use metal or other very hot fittings to avoid burns. Sew a loop on the top of the head so that it is convenient to hang the hat on a carnation in the bath.
Felting a woolen hat for a bath
You can independently not only sew, but also knit a hat for a bath. Distinguish between dry and wet felting. Dry requires skill, experience and a special tool - felting needles, it is easier for a beginner to felle the hat with a wet method.
Types of wool for felting hats in the bath
A woolen sweater washed in hot water becomes dense, tough, reduced in size. In a word - he "fell over". This is the basis of the technique of wet felting of a bath cap in a warm soapy solution.
For the manufacture of hats in the bath, different wool is used, differing in thickness, fiber length and method of production:
- Tow … Hair with short hairs. Felt is made of it.
- Sliver … Combed coat, without coarse hairs, not dyed. It is cheaper than dyed yarn. Very good for felting unpainted bath hats.
- Dyed combed wool … Its fibers are even, unidirectional, elongated. The most common material for making colored bath caps.
- Kardoches … Wool fibers are tangled, directed in different directions, it is very easy to roll it wet and dry. A popular material, also called "wool wool", is used to roll not too thin felt hats into the bathhouse.
- Combed wool of fine-wool sheep (merino) … The most expensive, high-quality wool, which is used for the manufacture of delicate things. Soft and silky felt is suitable for felting model, designer bath hats.
Materials and tools for felting a bath cap
Felting a hats for a bath does not require any special tools, you can do with improvised means that are at home. With the exception of sheep wool for felting, it must be bought at a craft store or ordered from an online store.
For felting hats, prepare the following materials and tools:
- Felting wool (non-spun wool of the same or different colors);
- Dense material for the form, for example, linoleum or thick cellophane;
- Laundry bag (bubble wrap or any mesh material will do);
- Hot soapy water in a ratio of 1 part water and 4 parts liquid soap;
- Sprayer or spray bottle;
- Hat blank (flower pot, three-liter jar).
Wet felting hats for a bath
If you decide to make a completely author's unique model, then study the technique of felting hats according to the proposed instructions. It will take time and dexterity, but the result will delight you and make you feel proud of yourself.
Consider the stages of wet felting a hat for a bath with your own hands:
- Take measurements of the future hat. Make a pattern using a thick material. You can use a matching knitted hat. Trace it with a pencil on the linoleum. Remember to increase the outline size by 30% for shrinkage.
- Separate fine fibers from the skein of wool and lay them on the pattern in different directions with an overlap for better grip. Go beyond the edges of the template, extra pieces of felt will then turn up. Make sure that there are no holes, lay thin strands in several layers, as if massaging, press with your fingers. The packing density should be uniform over the entire area of the pattern.
- Examine the fabric for light and cover any bald patches. Apply the wool pieces in other directions to keep the felt firm. Repeat this step several times until you get the desired thickness.
- Gently transfer the hat parts to a laundry bag and spray liberally with hot soapy water. If there is no such bag, wet the product and simply cover with foil with bubbles down or with a net.
- Pat the part with your palms for several minutes, gradually increasing the force of pressure, until a copious foam forms. You can roll the workpiece with a gurney, a children's machine.
- Remove the film, turn the shape over with the wool down, fold the extra edges onto the pattern, press well.
- Put another layer of wool on top of the pattern and repeat the felting process as in points 4-6.
- Use a dry cloth to thoroughly blot the entire workpiece on both sides. Cut the bottom of the hat with scissors, remove the pattern.
- Soap the workpiece well with your hands outside and inside, remember how the dough is, until the cap is compacted and stops disintegrating.
- Put the wet product on the prepared blank and, smoothing with your palms, give it a shape. Leave to dry.
- In cool water, rinse the soap cap, alternating between hot and cold water, squeeze lightly without twisting it, and return it to the disc again. Shape, leave to dry completely away from heating.
- Cut off the dried hat, forming a helmet, decorate with decorative elements that can be cut from pieces of colored felted wool. Make the ribbon for decoration thinner than the hat itself, and iron it well with an iron before cutting.
How to roll a hat - look at the video:
When visiting a sauna or bath, do not forget to take your favorite bath accessory with you - a hat. It doesn't matter whether it is a purchased copy or an exclusive one made by oneself. The main thing is to enjoy the steam room and stay healthy.
